Drying apparatus.



E. DISDIER.

DRYING |APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED IAN. 4| 1912.

Patented July 4, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

E. DISDIER.

DRYINGAPPARATUS. v APPLICATION FILED 1AN.4. 1912.

Patented July 4, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E. DISDIER.

DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4. I9I2 Patented July 4, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3 INVENTOE WITNESS ES ATTORNEYS E. DISDIER.

DRYING APPARATUS.

APPucATloN FILED JAN. 4. 1912'. 1 1 90,` 1 27. Patented July 4, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Jarrow/@f5 E.v DISDIER` DRYING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED IAN. 4. i912.

1 ,1 90,-1 27.: Patented July 4, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHET 5.

paratus.

Unrran srarns anna carica.

ENRIQUE DISDIER, OF MALAGA, SPAIN.

DRYING APPARATUS.

Sticky or Pitchy Substances', of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus intended more particularly for the drying of natural or industrial substances which, when moist or warm, are of a sticky or pitchy nature. l

The accompanying drawings represent a form of construction ofthe improved ap- Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section. Fig. 2 is a' corresponding plan. Fig.- 2a is a section on line 2a a of Fig. 1 showing the arrangement of the members .for

transporting the material on its exit from the drum a. Fig. 3 is a section upon line 3 3 of Fig. l, seen from the left. Fig. 4 is a section also upon line 3-3 of Fig. l, but seen from the right. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show rin elevation, plan and end, the details of one of the vanesof the upper drum of the apparatus. Fig. 8 represents in perspective a fragment of the -vaneshaft revolving in the drum and provided with transversal pallets. Figs. 9 and l0 are side elevations corresponding with Fig. 1 of two dilferent forms of construction of the apparatus; and Fig. l1 is adetail.

For greater simplicity therev have -been omitted from the drawings the elevator which conveys the material to be dried up to the hopper,` andthe dust-separator into which the gases are led by the fan.

The apparatus consists essentially of a rotary cylindrical drum "a of sheet iron or the like, provided with-two metal rings a which rest upon two pairs of rollers b bearing upon four supports o also of metal.` A- gear-wheel d which surrounds the drum serves to impart thereto a movement of rotation received from a pinion e mounted upon the shaft which carries the driving pulleys f. The front and back parts of the drum lead to metal chambers g', g2 respectively. rThe front ends of these chambers support four bearings for two shafts H each carrying a conveyerscrew fn, and a series of inclined v'anes 7L which receive a rotary motion from gears ,7c Z operated by means of 'a' pulley z'. The Vane shafts H have their Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July et, 1916.

Application led January 4, 1912. Serial N o. 669,303.

axes inthe neighborhood of the horizontal plane ofthe axis of rotation of the drum a,

vthat is to say, sufficiently high, so that the vanes h of b oth shafts H will be considerable distance from the top and bottom of the dlum; (Fig. l), while they almost touch the sides thereof, that is to say the vanes of one shaft will almost touch the wall of the drum at. one side and the vanes of the other shaft will almost touch the wall of the drum at -the opposite side (Figs. 2, 3 and 4)'. The

arrangement allows the vanes rotating at a relatively high speed to grasp the substance brought to their reach by the rotating drum and to throw it, dividing it through the atmosphere of the warm gases circulating 1n the oven.

The charging apparatus comprises a hopper 'mf stirrers mf, a conveyer screw m2 and a pulley m3, which could be replaced by a speed cone, for the disintegration of the material to be dried, whichis delivered upon the conveyer screws n; p"is a distributer to which the substance is brought by the endless screw conveyers g; r is a conduit'connecting the chambers g g2 with each other.

pulley actuates bythe intermediary of gears, a shaft E disposed at the interior of the fixed drum y. Said shaftv is provided with blades F, which can have inclinedtraveling in one direction or the other.

At S are shown the manholes for'cleaning and inspection, at t the furnace, at u the gassupply pipe, at o the air-inlets, at .fr the outlet' for dried product, and at z the exhauster or fan connected to the drum y.

r[he working of the apparatus takes place in the following manner: lf-it be first supposed that the exhausting fan is connected to the left side of the fixed drum y, as in the construction shown in the drawings, and the apparatus is in action and if at the same time the right hand chamber g is prevented` by the interpositionv in the. conduit of a metallic plate 1" from communicating with the conduit 7', and the latter from communieating with the left hand side of the drum y by the interposition of a movable metallic plate r2, the gases enter then at u into the'.

right hand chamber gf'fpass through the drum a, the left hand chamber g2, the whole length of theconduit r, and reach the drum y, from which they pass out at the opposite end. At the same time the material to be dried after being placed in the hopper is delivered regularly by the distributer m to the screw n which causes it to reach the rotary drum a, where it is constantly agitated and broken up, at the same time being pushed forward owing to the rotary movements and to the suitable inclination of the ing, and in the contrary direction of the y gaseous current during the last period, which is very favorable for a large number of products.

At the exit of the product at the material is cooled or else put directly in bags, or even passed over once again through the apparatus, if it is too moist to be suitably .placed in bags or bales. rlhe fixed drum y may be replaced by any other drying device, or even suppressed: in the latter case the eXhauster z can be directly oined to the left chamber g2 of the drum a, as has been shown in Fig. l0. rlhe vane-carrying shafts may be revolved at equal or different speeds, and placed higher or lower in relation to the center of the rotary drum a according to the nature of the material to be dried and the thickness of the layer with which the vanes z, are desired to contact. The ends of the vane-provided shafts passing through the metal chamber g, are cooled by the fresh and moist material which falls upon and covers them.

The arrangement and the motion of they vanes it mounted upon the shafts passing right through the rotary drum a have for e'ect that certain substances taking the form of plates or shavings, as in thev case for sugarcanes, maize-stems, sorghum, etc., undergo a desirable subdivision or breakage at the same time as they are dried. To prevent these plates or shavingsbeing too rapidly carried out of the apparatus by the current of gases, and thereforenot being suitably dried, as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the vanes may be given such an inclination that the revolving shafts throw the material obliquely back, and that in this way the latter opposes a greater resistance to its advance during its passage through the drum a. In order to obtain the same result in the drumly, 'there may be placed therein the vanes F arranged so as to drive vback the material or else by placing them parallel-to the axis there may be added intermediate series of projections or transversely inclined ribs F', Fig. 8,

which produce the same ed'ects upon rotation of the shaft. The front surface ofthe chambers g', g2 and the conduit r are provided with registers o to allow the addition 'of air to the gases of combustion. The furnace may be at any convenient distance from the drying apparatus to which the gases are led by means 1of a suitable conduit or flue.

An important feature of the appara-tus described is the continuous cooling of the vane-fitted shafts H. In the arrangement shown in the drawings, these shafts provided with helices n extending across the chamber g', serve to convey the moist product, the contact of which effects the cooling of the shafts.

The advantages of this drying apparatus are numerous. It is known that products very'rich in water, such as residues from diusion or steeping processes, beet-root pulp, potatoes, etc., tend during the first period of drying to form accumulations,

clots and strata, which prevent the drying from being accomplished rapidly. It has been recognized also that substances which are sticky when moist or warm, as for eX- ample concentrated sugary substances or Inolasses, readily adhere to the walls of the drier where they finally burn if they are not removed in proportion as they are deposited. rlhe arrangement of a double series of vanes, mounted upon two shafts turning simultaneously with the drum at suitable speeds, has for result to maintain the product under treatment in constant movement and suspension, the product being stirred, agitated7 divided, cut up and intimately mixed with the hot gases intended for the drying, at the same time that the parts adhering to the walls of the drum are removed and these walls cleaned. The surfaces of contact bem tween the material to'be dried and the gases being thereby considerably increased, there results a much more regular, quicker, more uniform and more complete drying, while at the same time the output of the apparatus becomes greater and more economical. Other advantages may be mentioned: the heating isintense and continuous; the control of the gases and of the material to be dried is easy throughout their travel; it is feasible to add air to the gases and to regulate their temperature; the working is aumounted upon it, said vanes being arranged l for throwing into and through-the atmosphere of the hot gases' the material admitted into the drum.

v 2. In a dryingapparatus, a rotating drum, means for admitting thehot gases into the p drum', and a pair of revolubleshafts mounted in the drum onY opposite sides of and below thejaxis of said drum and each provided with'vanes, the vanes being-a considerable distance from the top and bottomV of the drum and almost contacting with the walls of the drum only atl the sides thereof.

3.' In a drying apparatus', a rotating drum, a pair of hollow shafts revolubly mountedV in said drum, and means carried by said shafts for advancingmaterial through said drum, the said hollow shafts beingprovided withtransverse oles to permit air to pass through said sha tsvinto said drum.

4. lIn a drying apparatus, a revoluble drum, means for creating a current of hot gases in said drum, a pair of shafts rotating in said drum opposite directions, and vanes mounted on said shafts, Sald v'anes be- -ing arranged to. project the substance in a lcontrary d1rection to the current of the hot gases.

5. In a drum, means for creating a-current ofhot two subscribing apparatus, a revoluble gases in said' drum, a pair' of rotating shafts in said drum, an auxlliary drum for recelving the substances from theA first drum, a

collecting conduit of the gases communicat ing by its ends with the two ends of the rst drum, and a vane shaft rotating inthe in` terior of the xed auxiliary drum, the vanes of said shaft being provided with ribs or projectionspreventing the dragging of the substance by the hot.- gas current.

6. In a drying apparatus, a revoluble drum, means for creating al current of hot gases` in said' drum, apair of rotating shafts in said drum,l an auxiliary drum for receiving the substances from the irst drum, a collecting conduit of the gases communicating by its ends with .the two ends of the first drumand the two ends of the auxiliary drum, and means for interrupting the communications in order to change the direction of circulation' of the gases in the auxiliary- 

